Bank employees call one-day strike on 8 January

Vadodara: The All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) has called for a one-day nation-wide strike on 8 January in protest against violation of employees service agreements by the five associate banks of the State Bank of India (SBI).

SBI has five associate banks—State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Hyderabad, and State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur.

“The strike call has been given to protest against the violation of bilateral settlement by the five associate banks of SBI and their attempt to force unilateral service conditions on the employees,” AIBEA general secretary C.H. Venkatachalam said in a statement.

In May, the Indian Banks’ Association and the AIBEA signed a common settlement, which defined the duties and remuneration of employees for jobs in the banks. The five associate banks are party to this settlement, and hence are governed by the same, Venkatachalam said.

“However, the managements of the associate banks are implementing the service conditions of SBI, which is illegal and in violation of the settlement,” he added.

SBI has a different set of service conditions for its employees, based on an agreement between its management and union, and is not applicable to other banks.

State Bank of India